Life Makes Love Look Hard
by ndix0n
Summary: He took her dainty hand in his and kissed it. She blushed and swallowed the lump in her throat. She never thought she would feel anything like this again, and niether did he. He learned to love her and the feelings soon become mutual. This love is ours.
1. Oceans

**hello my lovely readers! i don't want to make you anxious to read but a little about me: my name is nikole, i'm 15 and a soph in high ****school. this is my 5th fanfic so i hope it's a little better than my others...check those out, if you want (:  
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**i'm done now. so please read and enjoy!**

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**NARRATOR'S POV**

Clare Edwards skipped down the hallway with a gleeful smile on her face. She had just told off Jenna Middleton, the girl who had stolen her boyfriend and she couldn't feel any better than she did right now. Clare was beyond proud for finally standing up for herself; nothing could stop her now. Clare headed towards her locker but soon bumped into someone.

"Clare!"

"Huh?" She replied, looking around.

"Hi, best friend Alli, how are you doing? I haven't seen you all day so I decided to come talk to you." Alli's voice changed tone. "Well thanks for the concern, Clare, I'm doing fine." Alli stuck her tongue out at her.

Clare laughed, "How are you on this gorgeous day, Alliah?"

Alli stopped walking and growled at her, she hated when Clare pulled the full name card on her.

Clare just giggled again. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Alli rolled her eyes and caught up to Clare who was now at her locker.

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm fine. So, how was gym class?"

Clare squealed, reminiscing herself, and Alli, of what had just happened.

"Oh, no. Clare Edwards, what did you do?" Alli asked her, half scolding, half curious.

Clare stood up tall. "Well, I," She pointed to herself. "Told Jenna off today."

Alli's mouth dropped open in shock. "No way…are you serious?"

Clare nodded her head smugly as she got her books out of her locker and put them in her backpack. "You know how Wesley…um…" She trailed off, embarrassed.

Alli shook her head hastily, eager to hear the story. "Yeah…"

"Well, I asked him about it and he said Jenna had started it. So when I was in the locker room, I took an extra pair of socks and put them into my shirt and started talking to Jenna. She was like 'so, the rumors are true' and I was like 'wow, Jenna. You are SO insecure.' And she was like 'I'm not the one who got the boob job.' And then I told her how I got laser eye surgery, took the socks out of my shirt and handed them to her. She was so embarrassed and offered to tell the school she made it up but I walked away and told her to let them think what they want." Clare finished with a huge smile on her face.

"Wow, the one time I sit out, I miss the _best_ gym class…" Alli pouted.

"Well, it wasn't that good, but I'm satisfied I got all of that out."

"Hah, yeah says you. I'm sure Jenna's mortified by now. I wouldn't be surprised if she was in the bathroom crying by now, she totally deserves it."

Clare giggled as she shut her locker and zipped up her backpack. She slung it over her shoulder and put her arm through the other strap as she looked over at Alli.

"Shall we go to class?" Alli offered her arm out to Clare.

Clare put her arm through Alli's gracefully. "I believe we shall."

They both giggled as they began to walk to Math together.

They got to the doorway and Clare suddenly remembered that she forgot her calculator; it must still be in her locker.

"Oh, shoot…"

"What, Clare Bear?"

"I forgot my calculator!"

Alli looked at her, in thought, and then responded, "Go back to your locker and get it, quick. I'll tell Mr. Purino you went to go get it."

Clare looked at her skeptically.

"Just go!" Alli shoved her a little bit and Clare took off towards her locker.

She walked fast, power walking almost, as she looked swiftly at her watch to see when the bell was going to ring. She turned the corner and soon collided into someone.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." She said guiltily as she felt her face flush.

She reached down to pick up the picture that she had knocked down. It was a girl of about the same age as her who had pin straight black hair and green eyes. She had beautiful features and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Clare picked the picture up, reaching out to give it back to the owner. She hadn't realized who it was until she looked up. It was a boy dressed in all black with dark brown side swept hair. His eyes were piercing green and he looked at her with his eyes wide, full of fear. He looked as though someone, or something, had just pained him and Clare immediately thought it was her who had done so. She smiled reassuringly at him and tried to keep him from bringing it up.

"She's beautiful." She said as she pointed to the picture, handing it back to the boy.

"Huh…what? Oh…Thanks."

Clare looked down; embarrassed she had said that out loud. The boy smiled at her and reached out his hand. He tilted her chin back up and smirked at her. Clare looked up to see that the boy seemed to have regained his composure.

"Your eyes are like oceans," He gazed into them. "They're stunning, as are you."

Clare smiled and swallowed the lump in her throat.

_I don't need this again, not after KC._

She tried to push away that feeling as she stuck out her hand.

"I'm Clare, Clare Edwards."

He took her dainty hand in his and kissed it lightly.

"Elijah Goldsworthy, preferably Eli."

_Elijah, what an extraordinary name._

"I'll…um…see you around?" Clare asked him questioningly.

"Sure you will," Eli replied with a wink as he walked past her and down the opposite hallway.

Clare watched after him briefly, and then continued walking back to her locker. She quickly spun the combo in and grabbed her calculator from the top shelf. She slammed it shut and sprinted off to class again, trying not to be late. As she was heading back to class she thought about her interaction with that boy, Eli. However, little did she know that meeting would change her life forever.

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**(: ta daa! there's chapter one. like it? hate it? wanna barf into a trashcan? let me knoww.**

**PLEASE READ!**  
**so, this story is going to be set waaay before eli and clare even meet so obviously they haven't been assigned english partners, kissed, gone to vegas night or any of that. i just wanted to clear that up. **

**iloveyouall & review ?**


	2. Prize

**hello again, thanks for sticking with me [& the story] !**

**i promise it'll get better soon just hang in there. i got lots of eclare fluff planned ahead! (:**

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Clare, studious Clare Edwards, spent the rest of the day thinking about Eli.

_Eli. Mysterious Eli Goldsworthy…_

Even his name was intriguing. She sat in her last period class watching the clock intently as she counted down the seconds until school was over. Clare approached her locker and put away what she didn't need. She walked out the side door and down the stairs, hoping to see him. She swiftly scanned the parking lot, but didn't see him.

_Maybe he leaves early…_

She sighed as she gave up her investigation and resumed walking. As she was walking home she began second guessing herself. This wasn't like her to be thinking about anything other than schoolwork. Clare Edwards never thought about BOYS. Let alone ones she hardly knew, ones that she had just met a couple of hours ago. Even though they're so cute…and gorgeous…and swoon worthy.

As Clare realized what she was doing, she shook her head and ripped Eli away from her thoughts.

_He's definitely not worth it._

Clare doubted herself and couldn't help think that maybe he was worth it. She continued to think of another excuse, hoping it wouldn't be that hard.

_Well, I sure don't need another boy, especially after KC._

Clare pinned her eyebrows together and then hastily nodded her head, content with her answer. Clare got home sooner than she was expecting and opened the door, surprised to not hear her parents fighting. She refused to think of him so sauntered to the kitchen and grabbed a granola bar. She marched up to her room and sat down at her desk as she unzipped her backpack and took her binders out. She began her homework and got sidetracked multiple times. She huffed in impatience and soon grabbed her iPod and put it on full blast; she was desperate for anything to keep from thinking of Eli.

.

.

Meanwhile at the Goldsworthy residence, Eli was lying down on the couch in his living room. His arms were crossed behind his head and he was staring blankly up at the ceiling. He had put the TV on in an attempt of distraction but it ended up being more as background noise to his thoughts, which Clare Edwards consumed most of. She intrigued him and he wanted to get to know her better. He couldn't contain his curiosity for her because she seemed so different than all of the other girls he had met. Even the other girls he knew at his school weren't like she was, not even Julia. Scratch that he didn't care to get to know most girls simply because they were all the same. He would listen to them introduce themselves, grit his teeth in irritation, and stalk away from them as fast as possible. Eli smirked to himself, reminiscing memories that he had found all too familiar. Eli let his curiosity get the best of him as he soon got fed up with just sitting and thinking about Clare.

_At least put your time to good use…_

He got up and leapt up the stairs to his room. He almost ripped the door off as he entered his room; it was so Eli-like. Two of the walls were black and the opposite two were gray. He had a large bed with black sheets and a white stripe down the side. Dead Hand, A Day to Remember, Rise Against, and Avenged Sevenfold posters covered every inch of his walls, which wasn't particularly surprising. He also had a framed picture of Julia on his bedside table. He refused to forget her and he made sure he talked to her at least once every night. He even had some keepsakes of memories they shared together, but he made sure to not go overboard. He dashed over to his desk and plopped himself on the chair. He eagerly searched for his laptop and finally found it. He turned it on, pressing the button multiple times as it seemed to take forever to turn on. In reality it was only a couple seconds that he had waited but Eli drummed his fingers on the desk impatiently.

"C'mon you damn piece of – "

"Eli!"

"Yeah?"

"Are you home yet?"

Eli rolled his eyes. He obviously was home if he had answered the first time. "Yeah mom, I just got home."

"Okay, sweetie, dinner should be ready in about an hour."

"Sounds good."

Eli opened iTunes and started the Internet as he waited for it to load. When it opened he put on If It Means A Lot to You by A Day To Remember. He bobbed his head to the music and sang along as he logged onto twitter. He typed and posted a tweet.

'I have to go pick up the parts for morty, want to come? funadam'

He really did have to get them; he was just getting a little sidetracked first. Eli searched Clare Edwards in the search box to see what it came up with. He saw one trueclare that really caught his attention.

_That seems like the most rational one I've found so far…_

He clicked on her name and began looking at the page. It was definitely the Clare he had met before; he would remember those blue eyes anywhere. The background of her page was Fortnight.

_Huh, so she has a fetish for vampire novels. I'll have to keep that in mind._

Even her display picture was beautiful. This girl was perfect and she didn't even know it. He looked through some of her tweets and saw that she likes to quote Shakespeare and other famous poets.

_Another note to self._

She had also tweeted Adam a couple times, too. He guessed that they were somewhat friends, maybe just acquaintances. That was a total plus for him because him and Adam had already gotten along right from the start, and Adam could also be a way to get to know her better. Eli grinned at his devilish plan and saw that Adam had responded to him. He shut his laptop and headed downstairs.

"Mom, is it okay if I go get some parts for Morty? I'll be back before dinner."

His mom smiled at him warmly. "Yes, Elijah. Just don't be gone too long."

He nodded and rushed out the door to his car. He hopped in and got to Adam's in practically 5 minutes. He beeped to let him know that he was here and Adam emerged from his house soon after that. As they drove to the shop, they made casual conversation every once in a while when they weren't jamming out to the music playing from Morty. They arrived at the store about 15 minutes later and Eli hadn't said much, although Adam didn't pay particularly much attention to it. As Eli started looking through the parts, he went slower than normal, hoping that Adam wouldn't notice. But he figured that Adam wasn't one to know much about cars or their parts, and he was right. As he looked through decorations for his car he casually asked Adam about Clare.

"She's nice, I just met her the other day. Why?"

"Just…curious." Eli shrugged and Adam didn't take note of it.

"So, what else do you know about her?"

Adam proceeded to tell Eli almost everything he knew about her, and Eli was very content about this. After a little while of them talking about Clare, Eli had all the parts he needed and he bought them and left the store, Adam following behind. Eli and Adam talked a lot more on the way back than they did going there, despite the music being even louder than before. Eli was eager to get back home so he drove a little faster back to Adam's and dropped him off.

"Bye Eli, see you tomorrow."

"See ya," Eli called as he started to drive away.

As Eli was driving back to his house, he suddenly wanted to think. However he didn't feel like going back home yet. So he drove extra slow and took the long way home. After a while of contemplating and listening to his thoughts, Eli decided that it was either now or never for him to finally get closure with Julia. His prize? Clare Edwards.

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**lemme know what you thoughtt! **

**until next time... :D **


	3. The Dot

**sorry! it's been a while. i know you guys must be kinda sorta disappointed [not too much though, i hope] but i made this chapter almost 4 times the size of the other ones so hopefully it'll make up for it ? i decided i'll finish this story first and then start on the other one. this one will probably be 10 chapters, maybe a little less, maybe a little more. i'll see as we get closer to that point. until then, ENJOY (:**

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"Ready to go?"

Mrs. Edwards called upstairs to Clare. She stumbled down the stairs as she finished putting her left flat on and switched her weight to the opposite side to put on her right shoe.

"Actually, I think I'll walk today. It's supposed to be 75-80 ."

She looked up after finishing putting on her shoe and smiled at her mom.

"You're sure?"

Clare nodded her head and her mom smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. She made her way to the door and opened it but stopped when she was about halfway through.

"Oh, and I won't be here when school gets out, I have to go talk to your father."

Clare looked down at her feet and sighed.

"Okay..."

Clare trailed off, showing that she was obviously a little disappointed. Mrs. Edwards smiled reassuringly at Clare.

"Bye, Clare Bear. Everything will be okay, I promise."

She turned around and made her way through the rest of the door, shutting it in the process. Clare sighed and sat down on the last stair. She felt the tears threatening to spill over as she mumbled incoherent words to herself. She quickly wiped her eyes and went to the bathroom. She walked over to the sink and turned the water on warm. She placed her hand on top of the faucet so she could feel when the water was just right. It got to that point and she placed her hands under the water, watching the droplets sift between her fingers. She brought her hands up to her face and washed it quickly, trying to get rid of the tears. She patted her face with a towel and applied a little eyeliner and some lip-gloss. She walked to her room and picked her backpack off of the floor, slung it over her shoulder and switched off her light. She walked back downstairs and opened the door, trying to make herself believe that today would be a good day.

.

.

Clare trudged silently to English, lost in her own thoughts. She had gotten to school and gone to her locker in a complete daze, not even realizing that she was really at school. She sighed and looked down at her feet.

"_Everything will be okay, I promise." Ha, yeah right, last time you said that… You know what, I'm gunna stop thinking about it. It's no use dwelling over the past..._

Clare looked up from her feet and saw that a couple of her classmates had stopped and looked questioningly at her. She smiled weakly and tried to walk to class confidently, but to no avail. She reached the door of her classroom and sighed as she walked in and took her seat. She remained almost frozen in her seat for a little while that she hadn't even noticed Adam walk in and sit next to her. Adam knew that Clare wasn't a very judgmental person. Everyone else at school had passed him off with the label of 'the new kid.' Instead, Clare warmly introduced herself, disregarding anything other people had said about him, or she was just doing a hell of a job disguising it. They had gotten to know each other a little better because they had English class together and they had time during class to get to know each other. Adam waved his hand in front of Clare's face.

"Clare,"

She suddenly was aware of Adam's hand that was waving frantically in front of her. She hadn't answered and Adam had proceeded to get up out of his chair slightly and was headed toward Mrs. Dawes desk.

"Yes?"

Adam stopped in his tracks and turned back to face Clare. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that it was her who answered and he shook his head at her. Clare looked at him and cocked her head sideways. Adam looked at her expression and giggled slightly before answering her unspoken question.

"You spaced out for,"

He checked the watch on his wrist.

"7 minutes now. I got worried, I thought I was gunna have to bring you to the hospital."

Adam told her as he headed back towards his seat and plopped himself down in it. He offered her a small laugh and she giggled in response.

"I'm fine, Adam. Thanks for the concern, I just have a lot on my mind."

Adam nodded his head in understanding and Mrs. Dawes still hadn't started the lesson yet so they took advantage of this time.

"So, do you know anyone else in this class?"

Clare asked him curiously as she turned in her desk to face him. She hadn't noticed that Adam was such a cute kid. He had girlish features but that just made him even cuter. She watched his face intently as he spoke, not actually listening to what he was saying to her. She smiled as she realized this and Adam stared back at her and blinked a few times.

"What…"

Clare giggled.

"Nothing, I just didn't realize how cute you are."

Adam blushed and looked down as he muttered a small,

"Thanks…"

He looked back up at her eventually and she smiled sweetly at him. He smiled back and cleared his throat.

"Anyways, like I was saying… I don't know many people here to begin with, but I have heard some people talking and apparently Heather Paulette, Wesley Betenkamp, and Elijah Goldsworthy are in this class, too."

Clare felt her heartbeat pick up when she heard Adam say _his _name. She gasped slightly and her eyes went wide.

"But, he-he's in the same grade as us?"

"Who?"

He asked, confused.

"Um, Eli…"

Adam pinned his eyebrows together and shook his head slowly.

"No – "

"So, then… How is –"

"Clare."

She looked up at him slowly while her mind was trying to make sense of this.

"We're in grade 11 advanced English."

Clare felt her cheeks turn pink and bit her lip while in the process of looking down at her feet.

"Oh yeah…"

Adam began to laugh at her and Clare overcame herself and started to laugh along with him. Mrs. Dawes looked up then, directly at Adam and Clare.

"I see you two are having a good time. If you'd like to continue this I can definitely arrange for you two to come enjoy yourselves, with me, after school. If not, I suggest you start reading."

After being reprimanded by Mrs. Dawes, Adam and Clare looked at each other and shared their silent questions. Clare shrugged her shoulders and Adam rolled his eyes as they both took out books from their backpacks and started to read.

.

.

_When is this class over, when is this class over?_

Clare impatiently repeated this over and over in her head, staring at the clock. She watched the little red second hand move so agonizingly slow as she sighed and put her head on the desk. She wanted to badly for school to be over, she was especially impatient today.

Mrs. Oh looked up from her computer and glanced at the clock. She frowned as she noticed that it was past the normal time that it should have been ringing. She got a glimpse of Clare who looked bored out of her mind and smiled.

"Alright, class. It seems that the bell schedule is a little off today. I'll let you go now, enjoy the rest of your day."

_Thank you, Mrs. Oh!_

Clare jumped up out of her seat and walked a little faster than normal to get to her locker. She quickly put the combo in and saw that Adam was at his locker, too.

'Hey, Adam!"

She called over to him and he turned his head to look at her. When he saw who it was who had called his name, he smiled.

"Hey, Clare."

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to The Dot with me today? My parents aren't going to be home and I was gunna head there anyways."

"Hey, two's company right?"

Clare beamed at him.

"Okay, sounds good. So, I'll see you in a little while."

"Yeah, I have to go home and ask my mom first but she'll probably let me go. See ya later, Clare!"

Clare finished putting her books away and got whatever she needed. It was only Wednesday and she sighed as she remembered there were still two more school days left until the weekend. She shrugged that off and tried to think positively as she remembered she was going to The Dot later.

.

.

"Hey mom, can I go to The Dot with a friend?"

Mrs. Torres appeared from the top of the stairs and narrowed her eyes at Adam.

"With who?"

She asked him coldly. She never like Adam hanging out with new people, she was too nervous that something would happen to her baby daughter, er, son.

"Um, my friend. Clare."

She looked at him skeptically but nodded her head.

"Sure, I don't want you home late though. It's a school night. And please be careful."

Adam rolled his eyes and responded with a short,

"Yup."

He headed towards the still opened door but paused when his mom called his name again.

"Grac – Adam. Have fun okay?"

"I will."

His mother mentally cursed herself for almost doing it, again. That was about the 10th time she'd done it this week. She just couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that her daughter was now her son.

Adam walked out the door and headed towards The Dot.

Mrs. Torres waited until Adam was out of sight and called her other son, Drew. She whispered something in his ear and he rolled his eyes but agreed anyways. He went back upstairs and emerged looking like a different person when he came back down.

.

.

"Hey, Clare!"

Adam saw Clare walking from a distance and noticed that they had gone the same way to get to The Dot. She turned around and grinned at him as she jogged over to where he was and gave him a hug. Adam gulped nervously but Clare didn't seem to notice that, or anything else out of the ordinary for that matter. [1]

"Well, this is nice. Now we can walk together."

Adam nodded his head and they kept small talk as they made their way to The Dot. They walked in and heard the bell jingle overhead. Clare noticed her sister's ex-boyfriend, Peter, as she walked in the door with Adam and they shared a smile. Adam noticed this but didn't ask Clare right yet. He waited until they sat down. Clare sat down in the chair closest to the window and Adam sat across from her. He glanced at Peter and then he asked Clare who the man was who had smiled at her. Clare was confused for a moment and then realized who he was talking about. She opened and closed her mouth multiple times as she struggled to use the right words to describe him.

"That's Peter. He's my sister's boyfriend."

She then frowned and replied,

"Well actually I guess he's more her ex..."

Adam gave her a really confused look and she giggled.

"Never mind, I find it confusing myself."

"Okay then, Clare."

Adam looked at Clare funny and she laughed. Just as it was getting a little bit awkward, Peter made his way over to their table and smiled at the sight of Clare. She was looking more and more like Darcy every day.

"Baby Edwards!"

Clare looked up and saw Peter standing before her and Adam. She smiled, for some reason she had always really liked Peter, even before he and Darcy had started dating.

"Peter, hi. How are you?"

"I'm pretty good, what about you?"

"I'm good," Clare responded casually.

"Oh, Peter this is my friend Adam. He's new at Degrassi. Adam this is Peter."

Peter stuck out his hand and Adam shook it and smiled at him.

"Pleasure, Adam."

"Same here."

Peter looked back at Clare and scratched the back of his neck nervously. Clare looked at him and she raised her eyebrows as she waited for him to ask, although she already knew what was coming.

"So, er, how's Darcy been lately?"

Clare smiled at Peter. She knew that he still loved her and Darcy wouldn't usually bring up boys but if she did it was normally Peter who she would talk about. But, that doesn't mean that she would exclude Clare from making her spill anything important that involved boys. Peter and Darcy both obviously still had feelings for each other and Clare thought it was cute so she decided to help Peter out.

"She's been good, really good actually. She just got her own phone down there."

Peter looked at her wide-eyed and Clare smirked devilishly.

"Oh really, wow that's good."

Clare took a napkin and asked Peter for a pen. He obliged but stood there confused. She wrote down Darcy's number and handed it to Peter. He looked down at it and grinned a huge grin.

"Oh, wow. Gee, thanks Clare…"

"Your welcome, Peter. I won't tell her. I'll let it be a surprise for her."

He then smiled and gave her a huge hug. Clare giggled.

"You're the best Clare Bear!"

Clare sat back down and apologized to Adam. He shrugged it off and they ordered their drinks and food. Peter came back with Adam's Pepsi and Clare's coke a couple of minutes later.

"So, have you met any other nice people here so far?"

Clare asked Adam and he thought about it for a minute.

"Well, I haven't talked to many people I've just been trying to find my way around school but I did meet one other nice person so far…"

"Yeah? Anyone I would know?"

Clare asked him as she took a sip of her soda.

"Eli, Eli Goldsworthy."

Clare basically spit out her soda and Adam furrowed his eyebrows at her.

"I don't know…if you know him, though?"

Clare laughed nervously,

"Yeah, I just met him; the other day actually. I think he's new at Degrassi too…"

"Oh really now?"

Clare nodded and Adam smirked mentally. He pretended not to notice Clare's reaction but reminded himself that he would have to let Eli know the next time he saw him. He then realized that was the second time Clare had reacted funny hearing Eli's name. He made a mental note of this but didn't bring it up again.

They talked for a little while longer until Peter came back with their food. Clare ordered a cheeseburger with fries and Adam got the same but with chili and cheese on his fries. Adam started eating and Clare noticed that he had gotten some chili and cheese on his face. She began to laugh and looking back up at his confused face covered with food made her burst into a fit of giggles.

"You - got some,"

She managed to get that out in between laughs as she pointed to her own face. Adam seemed to understand slightly and picked up his napkin and wiped it on his own face. He looked at it and saw the food on it and started laughing with Clare. Both of their laughing subsided and they looked around at the other customers in The Dot. Most of then were staring at Adam and Clare and this only made them laugh even harder. Peter came back over and gave them the check. He walked away shaking his head as Adam glanced at the watch on his arm and saw that it was getting late.

"Hey Clare I think it's time for me to go. My mom didn't want me home too late. It's 5 already."

"Okay, I think I'll stay a little longer. I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

Adam nodded his head and saluted Clare as he walked out the door. Clare laughed and shook her head as she watched him disappear. She took a sip of her drink and glanced around the room. She then heard the chair next to her move and she gasped. She turned her head to see a man who looked a year or two older than her. He had articles of clothing and other accessories covering almost every part of his body and she wanted to laugh but she was too busy trying to figure out who the man was before her.

"…Who are you? Do I know you?"

She asked him skeptically, and he laughed as he removed his hat and glasses.

"I'm...uh, Drew."

He told her as he laughed and Clare cocked her head to get a better look at him. She sat there and pondered to herself for a moment before speaking to him again.

"Lemme guess, protective older brother?"

She questioned him and stared at his face, waiting for a response. He nodded his head and smirked, obviously impressed.

"Not exactly, you got the jist of it but nicely done nonetheless. You're a bright one aren't you?"

"I guess, something like that…"

"I just was checking up on Adam. More like the overprotective mother who sent me."

Clare giggled.

"Aren't they all?"

"I suppose they have a reason to be."

Clare nodded in agreement.

"Adam's very…"

She struggled as she tried to think of the right word to describe Adam but not give his brother a bad first impression of her at the same time. She finally picked one,

"Unique."

Drew nodded and blinked a couple of times.

"If only you knew…"

He mumbled under his breath. Clare heard it but she didn't question him about it. It looked like a rough topic and she didn't want to pressure him into saying anything he didn't feel comfortable about. Drew sighed and picked up his glasses and other accessories and looked down at Clare.

"Well, I'd better get going. You seem like a decent girl for my little brother to hang out with."

Clare laughed and muttered a small,

"Thanks,"

"I'll report all good things back to the boss."

Drew said teasingly and Clare laughed again. He headed out the door and Clare shook her head thinking of the day's ridiculous events. She checked her watch and saw that it was getting late. She left a couple dollars on the table for Peter and went in the back to say goodbye to him. She saw that he was on the phone and she hoped so much that he would be talking to Darcy. She squealed internally and headed out the door of The Dot and braced herself for what would happen when she got back home.

.

.

"Clare?"

She heard her mother call as she opened the front door and walked inside. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and responded,

"Yeah, mom it's me. I stopped to talk to Peter and a couple of other friends before I came back home, sorry it's a little later than usual…"

"Oh that's fine, sweetie. I just wanted to let you know that your father and I finished signing all the necessary, er, divorce papers… and that he's going to be coming here on Saturday around 12 and I'll be heading to the condo."

By this time Clare was in the kitchen and she nodded her head at her mother. Neither of them mentioned anything else and Clare was more than happy to leave and head to her room where she could sit peacefully. Clare got out her homework and finished all of it in an hour and a half. She wrote a little of her English paper that wasn't due until next week but soon realized that she was actually quite tired. She grabbed pajamas from her closet and went into the bathroom, yawning. She peeled her jeans and shirts off and put on her comfy pajamas. She finished getting ready for bed and headed back to her room. She plopped herself on the bed and shut off the light. Before she knew it, she was asleep and consumed in her dream about a certain mysterious green-eyed boy who she desperately hoped she would get to see again soon.

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**[1] because he's in a girl's body, i meant like how bianca felt his..er, you know. but i decided that clare wouldn't notice, but adam would be a little nervous about her possibly finding out when she hugged him.**

**i'll be updating again sometime before monday! again sorry for the long wait..**

**review ? [i'll update faster...] :D**


	4. Green Eyes

**HI, BYE, ENJOYit. (:**

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Eli Goldsworthy pulled into the Degrassi parking lot about 15 minutes before the bell rang. He had no specific reason for being so early so he parked his hearse, Morty and turned the ignition off. He didn't come to school the previous day, but had decided to pull himself together and come today. He placed his hands on the top of the steering wheel and rested his chin on them. Eli gently closed his eyes, not so much that he would fall asleep, but just enough so that he could rest a little.

_Clare Edwards, I'm definitely gunna have to get to know her better. Maybe I'll run into her again today…_

He heard the talking and laughter grow louder and he groaned as he opened his eyelids. He saw lots of people going inside the school and decided to go in himself. He walked through the front doors and went to his locker quickly. He didn't have to exchange many of his supplies so he was done in a matter of seconds. He heard the first bell ring and he headed towards his first period class, English. He walked in the back doorway just as the bell rang. Mrs. Dawes eyed him suspiciously from the front of the room and he smirked back in response as he made his way to his seat. Normally, he would have taken a seat next to or closer to Adam but he noticed that none other than Clare Edwards was in his English class. He decided to take this opportunity and sat down behind her. He looked over and saw that she was reading "Fortnight," which was a series of vampire novels. He smirked mentally and got up out of his seat to go explain to Mrs. Dawes why he wasn't in school the previous day. She completely understood and waved it off, never mentioning it again. He turned around and locked eyes with Adam who wiggled his eyebrows and looked over at Clare. Eli laughed quietly and rolled his eyes. As he approached Clare's desk, he casually brushed his arm against hers, causing her to look up. He reached his seat and sat down as Clare turned around to face him. She gazed at him with her jaw opened, eyes wide. He was the first to speak.

"Blue Eyes, we meet again."

She smiled at his nickname for her and replied,

"Wow, I'm surprised you even remember me, Elijah."

"Well, I typically wouldn't have, but in your case I'll be more than happy to make an exception."

Clare blushed, but still managed to shoot back,

"I see someone's quite the charmer?"

Eli held his hands up in mock innocence.

"I'm just here, fulfilling my promise, as you asked. You do remember?"

Eli smirked at her.

"If I recall correctly, it was a statement; I never begged, Goldsworthy."

Eli looked at her and nodded his head, obviously impressed.

"Touché, my friend, touché."

Mrs. Dawes started their lesson for the day and Clare whispered a thank you as she giggled and turned back around.

.

.

"Clare...CLARE!"

Clare jumped up and tried to find the source of the noise. She looked up and saw that Adam was standing over her. She had been in art class with Mrs. Dawes, again. She sure knew how to ramble on all class, and Clare had managed to doze off, just a little. Adam giggled at her sleepy expression and Clare rubbed her eyes as she sat up.

"C'mon, we gotta get to 7th period."

Clare groaned and reluctantly got up out of her sat. She reached down on the floor next to her and lazily tossed her backpack on. Adam waited in the doorway for her to come and she eventually got there. They made their way down the hallway together for they both had gym last period. Clare groaned and stuck her tongue out as she realized this. Adam laughed.

"Hey, on the bright side, at least we have study hall tomorrow."

Clare smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but that still means we have to go through with today's class…"

"Well, maybe it won't be that bad. I heard we're just playing volleyball."

"Yeah…that's exactly my point."

Adam snickered and Clare glared at him. His laughing soon subsided and Clare raised her eyebrows at him and walked inside the girl's locker room. Adam paused there and went to the faculty bathroom to change, since he really couldn't go into either locker room. [1]

Meanwhile, Clare made her way into the girl's locker room and went to her locker, which was next to her best friend Alli's. Clare was almost done changing when Alli finally walked in. Alli gave her a sheepish grin and Clare chuckled.

"It really puzzles me how you NEVER get caught."

Alli tossed her hair over her shoulder dramatically as she replied,

"It's because I'm…"

She leaned down and whispered in Clare's ear.

"Wonder Woman! Muahaha!"

Clare giggled and playfully shoved Alli away from her. They were already a little late so they ran out of the locker room, fast. Clare hadn't been paying attention and ran right into someone. She looked up and was about to apologize until she noticed who it was that was in front of her. Her heart stopped and she couldn't have said anything if she wanted to. Alli noticed this and smiled. Although she didn't know who it was, she recognized the look on Clare's face and left them alone, nonetheless.

"Edwards, you've already had the pleasure of seeing me once today. Two times is getting to be a bit much, don't you think?"

"Did you ever think that maybe it was YOU who keeps finding ME, Goldsworthy?"

Eli pretended to think about it for a second and smirked. He leaned down next to Clare's ear and her heartbeat went wild. He whispered,

"Not a chance, Blue Eyes."

Clare swallowed hard and Eli bit her earlobe as his head moved away from her ear. Clare looked at him wide-eyed while he had a smirk on his face the whole time. Before turning around to walk away, he winked at Clare and went to the other side of the gym where the boys waited. Clare shook her head and got out of her trance. She sprinted into the gym and sat down next to Alli just as their gym teacher called her name.

"Here!"

She looked at Clare skeptically as Clare tried to quickly think of an excuse to get her out of this.

"My um, locker wouldn't open…"

She looked at Clare and nodded her head, believing her excuse and Clare sighed internally. Alli, however, knew that Clare was lying; she had walked out of the locker room with her. Clare glanced at the other side of the gym and saw Adam and Eli sitting next to each other. Eli whispered something in Adam's ear and Adam laughed as he looked over at Clare. When they made eye contact, he immediately stopped laughing and looked away. Clare frowned.

"So, Eli where were you yesterday?"

Eli looked a little uncomfortable and Adam could sense this.

"Hey, look. It's alright if you don't want to tell me, I completely understand."

Eli shook his head hastily.

"No, no. It's not that. I just don't know how to put it."

Eli pinned his eyebrows together and bit his lip.

"What was the date yesterday, Adam?"

"April 22…"

"Well yesterday of last year I ki –"

"Alright, class!"

Coach Armstrong called from the other side of the gym. Eli groaned and decided he would tell Adam later. Adam looked at him and nodded as if he understood.

"Today, we'll be playing volleyball. I would like you all to get into groups of five and go stand behind one of the nets. You'll be given another team to play against and the teams will rotate when we blow the whistle. Get into your groups!"

Clare and Alli looked at each other. They definitely didn't want Jenna in their group and Alli had enough of Wesley for one day. They then saw Fiona Coyne sitting on the bleachers by herself.

"Hey, Fiona?"

"Oh, hello Alli."

"Would you like to be on our team?"

Fiona grinned and hopped off the bleachers.

"I'd love to!"

She walked over to Clare and frowned.

"I'm sorry, I don't know your name..."

"I'm Clare Edwards."

"Clare Edwards... Why does that ring a bell?"

Clare stood there and shrugged her shoulders, hoping she wouldn't remember that...

"Oh! Clare! You were the one who bit my brother, Declan's – "

Clare interrupted quickly because she heard footsteps behind her and she didn't want whoever was coming to hear the rest of the story.

"Yeah! That's me. Okay let's get to volleyball!"

Fiona and Alli giggled as Eli walked up behind Clare and poked her sides. Clare screeched and jumped up, causing a few weird looks from her other classmates. She whipped around and slapped the person. She knew all too well that it was either Eli or Adam, but Eli was more the one to pull that stunt.

"Ouch!"

He faked mock hurt and grabbed his arm. Adam decided to be the mature one here.

"Clare, Alli, Fiona, do you guys mind if we join your group?"

"Not at all!"

Fiona replied cheerfully as she smiled at Adam. He blushed and looked down as Eli smirked. He clapped his hands together.

"Okay! Let's get to it, shall we?"

The rest of their group headed towards one of the nets. Adam and Alli were talking to Fiona. Eli stood there as he waited up for Clare.

"I expect I'll be hearing the rest of the story about Declan later, Blue Eyes."

"Not a chance, Green Eyes."

Clare answered him cheerfully as she skipped over to the rest of her team, leaving Eli there open-mouthed.

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**[1] i made adam go into a faculty bathroom because truthfully, i don't really know which locker room he would go in. so i said that to make it easier**

**ALSO, sorry about putting so many unnecessary commas.. it's quite the bad habit of mine...**

**don't forget to double review ! :D**


	5. Who?

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**o.o ENJOY.**

**

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**

As soon as the bell rang, Clare ran as fast as she could to try and get out before Eli could –

"Ah!"

Clare screeched as she felt a warm pair of arms wrap around her waist. Clare kicked and slapped him, but it was no use. Eli held on with all his might, refusing to let her go. He was eager to hear this story about Declan and he wouldn't let her go until he heard it. Adam had also told him in gym class that Clare had reacted 'strangely' two times when Adam mentioned his name to Clare. Eli grinned in accomplishment when he heard that the first time and continued to let Clare struggle in his arms.

"E-li!"

She whined and he laughed.

"Getting tired yet, Clare?"

She refused to give in, she would not give Eli the satisfaction.

"No!"

She yelled and tried to bite him. Eli snorted and almost lost his grip on Clare. He shook his head in disapproval and Clare frowned. Eli then grabbed her hips and swung her around so she was facing him. He gazed into her clear blue eyes, smirking. She looked up at him innocently and he was tempted to let her go, but he soon recovered and realized her plan. He shook his head at her.

"I don't think so, Blue Eyes."

She frowned at first, but then looked at him with an evil glint in her eyes. She took a step closer to him. Eli gulped and raised a single eyebrow. Clare looked up at him through her lashes and she continued to bring herself closer to him. Eli resisted the urge to kiss her, or do anything that he would later regret, although he still held tightly onto her hips.

"Eli,"

He gulped but kept his cool, on the outside at least.

"Clare."

He responded nonchalantly. She snorted as she asked devilishly,

"Do you want to know what I did to Declan?"

Eli smirked.

Yeah, 5 points for Eli.

"Obviously, wasn't that what I brought you out here for in the first place?"

Clare ignored his comment and smiled devilishly. Eli was beginning to get a little concerned.

Relax, its just Clare. She's basically a saint, what could she possibly do?

"Are you SURE?"

Eli looked at her like she was mental; of course he wanted to know. Clare shrugged her shoulders, like she knew something Eli didn't, but this didn't faze him much.

"You asked for it…"

Eli pinned his eyebrows together. Clare tilted her head up towards him and began to advance towards his face. Eli misinterpreted this and thought she was going to kiss him. He went into panic mode, but made sure that he didn't let this show. Clare smiled even wider and Eli still looked at her strangely, but he made sure he wasn't the one who was going to make the first move. Clare giggled and lunged towards his neck. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled him closer. She played with his shaggy hair at the back of his neck as she sucked on the skin in the front. She did enough to make him feel it but not enough to create a hickey. She continued this and Eli moaned. She suddenly nipped his neck and Eli yelped. Clare backed away, giggling like a madman while Eli looked at her wide-eyed, jaw hung open.

"That's what."

She smiled and waved at him as she skipped away, leaving Eli standing there in shock.

.

.

What the FUCK just happened? Did Clare really just bite my neck?

Eli reached up towards his neck and rubbed around it, trying to find the spot. He felt little teeth marks and continued to subconsciously rub the spot, still very confused. Eli wanted to ask Clare what that was all about but he didn't even have her cell phone number, so he couldn't call her. He would have to wait until he logged onto twitter and ask her there. He looked around frantically for Adam but he was nowhere in sight. Eli sighed and approached his hearse, Morty. He decided he would drive over near Clare's house to see if maybe he could catch her while she was walking home. Eli drove up and down Clare's street scanning everywhere for even a glimpse of her. He even went a couple streets over, in case she took a detour. She wasn't anywhere in sight so Eli headed back home.

.

.

Clare sprinted home and took the shortcut that really no one else knew about. She wanted to keep Eli in suspense, so she definitely didn't want him to be driving around and find her. Clare went inside to an empty house. Her mom would probably be home later. She went up to her room and turned her laptop on since she didn't have any homework to do. While she waited for it to turn on, she fished through her dresser drawer, trying to find the Fortnight book she had been reading. She found it and immediately searched for the page that was dog-eared at the corner. She frowned when she couldn't find it right away. It finally dawned on her that she had finished the book at school today as she skimmed over the last couple of pages, remembering the words. She decided to go on her computer to pass some time. It turned on eventually and logged onto twitter. She saw that Eli had tagged her in a tweet.

'TrueClare Did you read "Juliet, Naked" by Nick Hornby? I'll lend it to you if you haven't yet.'

She blushed when she read this. Eli would never fully understand what effects she has on him. Now she actually had a book, plus an excuse to talk to Eli. She was about to respond to his tweet when she heard the front door creak open. She got up from her chair and peeked her head out the door. She saw someone step into the door that looked like her mother.

"Mom?"

The woman turned around and flashed Clare a smile.

"Hello there, Clare!"

Clare frowned. Her mother normally wasn't happy. Actually she hadnt been since the –

"I'm going out to dinner a little later, you don't mind right?"

Mrs. Edwards walked into the house and shut the door. She hung her keys and jacket up as she walked over to the stairs where Clare's room was. Clare shook her head and walked a little bit further out of her room.

"Nope, I think I'm gunna go to the library in a little while. Is that oay?"

Mrs. Edwards smiled cheerfully.

"Yes, Clare Bear. That's perfect. You go have fun!"

Clare relentlessly nodded her head.

"…uh-huh. You too?"

Clare retreated to her room and was about to reply to Eli when she saw that he had tweeted again. She contemplated between answering or seeing what he said and decided on clicking it; she was too curious.

'are you heading to the library? you want some company?'

Clare squealed internally as she realized that she was going to the library the same time as Eli. She wasn't positive that Eli had directed the tweet to her, but she was pretty sure. He knew that she basically lived at the library and was probably intending on metting her there. Now, it was her turn to be cheery. She closed her laptop and grabbed her purse with her library card and some other necessities in it. She bounded down the stairs and called to her mom that she was leaving now and her mom said that it was fine. She headed out the front foor and began her peaceful walk to the library.

.

.

Eli sat anxiously at his computer, waiting to see if Clare would answer his tweet from before. As he waited and she still had yet to respond, he decided to give it another shot.

'are you heading to the library? you want some company?'

Of course, this tweet was directed to Clare and he hoped that Clare was intelligent enough to read into it. He could only hope as he headed down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Hey, Cece."

"Oh hey there baby boy, what's up?"

Eli smiled at his mom, she was so unique.

"Not much, do you mind if I head to the library for a little while?"

Cece thought about it for a second and then shook her head.

"Nope, that's fine. Bullfrog and I will eat if you're not back. I'll put you dinner in the fridge for you so you can eat when you want."

Eli grinned at his mom and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thanks mom, you're the best."

"You best remember, Elijah!"

Eli snickered as he walked out the front door and walked towards his hearse, Morty. He started the engine and drove in the direction of the library. Eli got extremely anxious when he had to wait at stoplights and stop signs. That was the only time he fully got to think about Clare, and what the play-out would be when he saw her.

You have to wait, Eli. Wait. Hopefully you'll see her in a couple minutes. Yeah, probably, Clare lives at the library.

Eli kept saying this to convince himself that he would meet her there. He pulled into the parking lot as he finally arrived. He stepped out of Morty and shut the door, making sure that he took the keys with him. He locked the car and was about two steps away from the entrance when he was met with an unexpected surprise.

.

.

Clare gasped and her eyes went wide as she saw the hearse in the distance and noticed that a familiar boy with dark shaggy hair and clad in black clothing was not too far away from her. She was so anxious that she was about to call out his name. However, someone else beat her to it. She was curious so she didn't bother calling his name again. He saw a girl with long, striaght brown hair walk up to him. She was very pretty, she had to admit. She had green eyes, the same stunning shade of Eli's and freckles splattered all over her face. They shared an intense hug and Clare immediately felt a pang in her heart, although she continued to watch them. She watched intently as they began to talk to each other. Eli laughed multiple times as well as the girl. Clare began to question Eli's intentions.

_Maybe he's just naturally a flirt. He does seem to have a very sarcastic personality… I probably just interpreted all the signs wrong…_

Clare thought sadly to herself. Eli and the mystery girl had talked for about 10 minutes when Clare finally got fed up. She was about to march up to Eli and say hello as well as introduce herself to the girl but stopped dead in her tracks. She watched the pair, open-mouthed. The girl kissed Eli on the cheek and he smirked in response. Clare felt her heart shatter in half as she stood there, still watching. The girl said something to him and he nodded, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Clare was crushed and couldn't stand the sight of them anymore. She completely disregarded the fact that she came to get a book and ran back home, her face streaked with tears. She hadn't bothered to hold them back. Her mom wasn't home when she got there and Clare felt immediate relief. She ran up to her room and plopped herself on the bed, not caring about anything anymore.

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**IT'S _. fill in the blank:)**

**OH, if you guys looove munro [ i hope ] check out my tumblr: itsnikolexo3. tumblr. com [remove the spaces]**  
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